Christmas Morning

Christmas Day has come and gone! As you can see in the pictures, the kids had a wonderful day. In the top picture, the kids are wearing their new PJs from Santa that they opened on Christmas Eve. The rest of the pictures are taken throughout the day, although they are in their pajamas for all of them. What it is about Christmas that makes kids (and me!) want to stay in pajamas as long as possible? Well anyway, Ruby was the sweetest thing all day. It helped that she slept wonderfully the night before, which is a lot more than I can say about the other three. They all slept together in the boy's room, and according to Spencer, "Ella was terrible!" She's not used to the company at night, I guess. Whatever the case, I heard them awake upstairs at 5:40. They knew that they had to wait for Ruby to wake up before we could go downstairs, and so of course she sleeps in until after 8:00! Even then I had to wake her up! So the kids took turns opening their presents (Ruby just sitting contentedly playing with a toy or two, wrapping paper, and bows) culminating with the BIG present from Santa. It was a big box, all wrapped up, but it actually just had a note inside telling them to look in the backyard. So we had pajama trampoline jumping all morning! It was just as much fun as when I was a kid! We had several fat lips and bleeding throughout the day ("At this rate we'll be in the Emergency Room within the next three days!" says Bryan), but it was fun. Ella's pretend cooking has now been taken to a whole new level with the introduction of the Easy Bake Oven. What a hit! Unfortunately she has been hounding me ever since to make cookies and cakes - in fact she's harassing me even as I type! It was a fun day. I hope you all had a great day as well!

Christmas Sunday

Merry Christmas from the Carlsons! With only one more day of WAITING, the kids are pretty insane right now. So I thought I'd post this sweet little picture of them, looking cute and happy, and let everybody have the illusion that this is what Christmas is like at our house this year. Nothing but sweetness and bliss! We are very excited for the big day tomorrow, and we hope you all have a wonderful day. Merry Christmas!

Seeing Santa

We were very lucky to have Santa come right to our neighborhood this year, and the kids were all thrilled! All 4 of our kids are in full-up in Santa mode (I'm counting Ruby, although she is a little young), so Christmas this year is going to be exciting. Here is a play-by-play of the happenings on Santa's lap. First, Ruby was so cute. She is such a sweet, easy going little girl. It was practically impossible to get a picture of her looking at the camera, because she was so mesmerized by this man with a white beard who was holding her. The top picture is the only smiling (or looking!) picture I got of her! The rest of them look just like the second picture - Ruby staring at this weird man. Ella was darling with Santa. She told him that she wanted a real watch for Christmas, which is what she's been telling me for months, and "Snap Dolls" which I found out from a friend of hers is a cute little type of doll that she loves to play with. Next Tyler sat on his lap. He may be getting older, but he was still cute to see on Santa's lap. He told him he wanted the Lego Star Wars video game, and then couldn't think of another thing. So that is why he is laughing in the picture. He drew a blank! Then came Spencer. Spencer did not draw a blank, but had it all mapped out. He told Santa that he wanted the Kung Fu Panda video game, and football pads. So after the pictures, hot chocolate, and cookies, we started to walk home. It turns out that Santa had to leave just that minute as well, and so as we started our walk home the boys saw Santa get into his pick-up truck and drive away!! They were NOT impressed! This opened up A LOT of question. Tyler kept saying, "He's a real man!" We had to explain to them that Santa works a little differently in Texas. Evidently he drives a pick-up truck. Plus our street is too narrow for his sleigh and reindeer, so he parked it down the road a ways. They were satisfied, and so the fun is back on! I love Christmas!

Funny Story...

Spencer cracks me up! He came home from school last week and asked if we could have a talk about Christmas Eve. I said "Sure!" Well, he said:
"Is it possible for us to say TWO prayers on Christmas Eve this year?"
"Of course, Spencer." (Thinking, wow...how cool that Spencer is wanting to double up on prayers for Christmas! He must be growing up..."
He continues, "Because if we say two prayers on Christmas Eve then we could skip the one on Christmas morning and get down to our presents faster!" :)
So...not quite what I was thinking! After further discussion I learned that this was brought on by a discussion he was having with some friends at school, and they were talking about how they get up and immediately run out to open presents. Spencer, recalling years past, was feeling ripped off! He had to endure a PRAYER (and, being Christmas, usually a long one) before running to the presents! And the funniest thing is that he had a talk with one of his teachers about this. Teachers must crack up on a daily basis at the things they hear. Anyway...we will not relent! Pray we will!

Thanksgiving

What a great Thanksgiving! It is our first "turkey dinner" Thanksgiving in three years, and we loved it. Bryan's parents are now living in San Antonio, and so they were here, as well as his brother Scott and his family and sister Jani and her family. They all either flew or drove here for Thanksgiving and so we had a full house! We split up food assignments, so nobody spent the entire day slaving away in the kitchen, and it was all delicious. We loved having everybody here with us. And the kids (9 of them in all) had a great time together as well (as you can see from the pictures). With temperatures in the 70s, it was perfect weather to be outside. So we played a lot of backyard football, took walks to the park, and we also went to SeaWorld one day. All that fun can be quite draining, however, as you can see from the last picture (my favorite!). I also have a good one of Bryan's parents both asleep on our couch at 7:15 one night, so I think we definitely wore them out. :) We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

The retirement

Well, we just returned from Bryan's dad's retirement in Ohio. Wow! Can you believe it...37 years?? It was a really fun time, seeing family that we hadn't seen in years, and of course it was a very neat occasion for us all. Bryan and his brother and sister gave Bruce a really nice plaque (shown above) with all of the airplanes that he's flown on it, as well as patches from all of his squadrons. It turned out really amazing! And it was just a great opportunity for them to express to him (and their mom) how thankful they are for their examples and for all everything they've done for them. It was a tear jerker, I tell you! The kids were pretty proud of their grandma and grandpa too. But of course the highlight for them was playing with the dogs!!

Deer hunting in Minnesota

I could have titled this post "Crazy long-underwear Kung Fu man," and claimed to have not known him, but the world really needs to know where my nutty boys get their nuttiness! Bryan just got home from deer hunting up in Minnesota, and he had a great time. He spent the week with his dad, his brother Scott (pictured above), his grandpa Carlson, and uncles Don, Ron, and John. Wow, those uncles all rhyme. Well anyway, they had a fantastic time. I was cold all week just thinking about Bryan up there with 8 degree temps (it was 80 degrees here), but evidently the cold didn't bother him at all. How could it with long underwear like that!!?? But really, it was just because they all had such a good time together. And honstly, probably sheer body heat kept them warm! Eight men sleeping in a 200 square foot hunting shack will do that!

Ella's Haircut

Ella is now the proud owner of a cute new bob haircut. I have always thought she would look darling with a bob, but I didn't want to give up the bows, braids, and buns! But, thanks to the fact that she has started refusing to let me do her hair up, and the fact that she has a giant chunk of missing hair (thank you KitchenAid!), I decided it was time. So we went to a fun kid's haircut place and chopped off about 4 inches. That's pretty significant for a 3 year old! She looks darling, too. And with the help of a couple of bobby pins, I can still do a bun for ballet. Yea!

The Halloween Video

Some of the craziest kids I've ever seen! The boy's Kung Fu is really a sight to behold. Never have I seen such skinny, flailing limbs in motion such as in the Carlson Kung Fu. Too bad Bryan didn't demonstrate some of his skills as well - he's taught the boys everything they know!

Halloween!

Halloween was a big hit this year, as always. I mean really...what is there not to like about Halloween?? Costumes, candy, and craziness - the recipe for a good time! So let me narrate through the pictures. First you may notice that Spencer and Tyler have two different costumes. Yes, and if you've already heard my rant on this subject then skip ahead. OK, so of course the kids aren't allowed to wear Halloween costumes to school, but the teachers really do want the kids to be able to dress up. So they have these big themed units, with the grand finale on Halloween. The first grade did a unit on Egypt - very fun - and it would be great if the students and parents could work together to make an Egyptian costume to wear to school on Halloween! What a fun idea! (Sarcasm, thick sarcasm) Of course Tyler doesn't want to be an Egyptian for his real costume (no, he'd prefer to be a Power Ranger for third year in a row - a different colored one, of course, requiring a new costume, of course)! The fourth grade has been working on a fascinating unit of mapping, culminating with a wonderful Pirate Treasure Map Day. And you guessed it...Pirate costumes for the fourth graders! Alright, enough with the sarcasm. The school is great, and their units really were neat, but I have to grrrrr just a little bit. :) None of the other pictures really need explanations - the girls were darling, the boys were ferocious, and they all got an obscene amount of candy. A great day all the way around! Stay tuned for the pre-trick or treating video...

I've been tagged!

Being new to the world of blogging, I was not aware there was such a thing as being "tagged" to do a certain thing. But now, being the hip blogger that I am, I have been tagged by my friend Charlyce. Of course I'm not hip enough to know what that actually meant, but after e-mailing her for help she has informed me that this particular tagging means that I am to fill in the blanks below on my own blog. Not too difficult, so here I go...

10 years ago I was...

1. Living in Del Rio, Texas for pilot training

2. Teaching 7th grade math at San Felipe Middle School (such a nightmare!!)

3. Prego with Spencer

4. Was probably in the middle of gaining my 50 pregnancy pounds

5. Probably thinking I looked cute in those hideous maternity clothes of those days

5 things on my to-do list for today

1. Do the laundry - my Monday chore

2. Go to eat lunch with Spencer (out of necessity - I forgot to put his sandwich in his lunch box. So unless I go, he will get a baggie of carrots, a chocolate milk, and a pixie stick)

3. Go shopping for new winter clothes for Ella - she does not own one long sleeved shirt from last year that fits her.

4. I'm currently ignoring Ella who is screaming at me from her time-out in her closet. (It's a big closet - don't feel too bad for her). Not part of my original to-do list for today, but we must be flexible, right?

5. Take the boys to piano lessons after school - their third lesson!

5 snacks that I enjoy

1. Chocolate chip cookies - the all time best!

2. Yummy bars, brownies, and cakes

3. Cheesecake (preferably from the Cheesecake Factory, although I'm trying hard to duplicate them at home)

4. Julio's chips and salsa

5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice-cream-shakes, chocolate truffles, and
so on and so on...(and since I'm currently trying to shed some Ruby
weight, all of these things are forbidden!! Boo hoo!)

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. Pay off my house

2. Fix the stereo in my car - for the love of Pete! I can't stand not having music in the car!

3. Buy some Sea Doos

4. Buy a $5000 purse

5. Just kidding about the purse!!!! That is my ultimate pet peeve.
At what point in your life do you find it appropriate to buy a $5000
purse!!

5 places I have lived (I'm sorry but I've had to up this number slightly)

1. Ogden, UT - born and raised

2. Moscow, ID - went to college, met Bryan, and had our first little house (400 sq. feet)

3. Tacoma, WA...the beginning of our Air Force career...

4. Del Rio, TX

5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Mountain Home, ID
7. Osan AB, Korea
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Orsfeld, Germany
10. San Antonio, TX - love it, love it, love it!

5 jobs I have had

1. Ponderosa - first job! Busing tables in high school

2. Sizzler - salad bar artist and then waitress

3. The Pantry - waitressed my way through college

4. Math teacher in Del Rio

5. Math tutor in Idaho

Fun times! OK...now I tag Stevie!

Ruby is sitting up!

Little Ruby is sitting up! She is the cutest and sweetest little piece of love I've ever seen. We are so beyond smitten by her. This is my first attempt at uploading a video onto my blog, or anything else for that matter. I've trimmed the video down to just under two minutes (from about 7 minutes) but even at that I realize that it may be a little boring to watch for two whole minutes. And I really wish I could get rid of the sound, because you know how listening to your own voice is the most annoying sound? Well, enough said. But, first I don't know how to delete the sound, and second you would miss hearing Ruby's little laughs and bubble blowing. So my apologies for the narrating (I didn't know I would be posting this video for others to hear!), but it is all worth it for the sight of this little lovie.
***OK, after about an HOUR my video is finally uploaded and ready to play. Unfortunately my cropping of the video did not work, and so - you guessed it - there is a full seven minutes of Ruby here. And after watching it myself, I do feel as though it is still so darn cute and worth it, but I'm even more apologetic of my narrating and my sniffing (I had a cold). So just watch what you'd like. I won't be offended if you stop it. But I'm certainly not going to try doing it again! Enjoy!

Tyler finally loses a tooth!

The day has finally come! Tyler has been waiting YEARS (since Spencer lost his first tooth, to be exact) to lose a tooth and it is finally out. And Tyler had no qualms about having that thing yanked out, either. I was giving it a little wiggle, and then a little tug, and I could see that it was not going to come out easily. So I suggested that we wait another few days. Fat chance! Tyler wanted it out! So I grabbed a piece of tissue and ripped that bad boy right out. It was actually quite disgusting, to tell you the truth. Bryan would never have made it - he'd have been down for the count as soon as the bleeding started! But thankfully I got the job done. So good for Ty! The Tooth Fairy has made the visit, and Tyler is showing everybody his missing tooth. In case some of you were not aware, or have forgotten, Tyler didn't cut his first tooth until very late - 16 1/2 months old! Seriously. So I've included a picture of Tyler right after getting his first tooth just to commemorate this big day. Way to go Tyler!

Ella is not half-bald

Alright, I've been called by a few panic stricken family members in reference to the half-bald picture I have posted of Ella. I do want the record to show that Ella is NOT half-bald, as it actually does appear in the picture, but her hair (or the thin remains on that side) is just tucked behind her ear. And although you can see from the chunk of hair that she is holding that she did lose a lot of hair, it is actually not that noticeable. The hair was ripped out at various lengths, not directly at the scalp, so it just looks very very thin on that side of her head. But you'll notice in later pictures, yet to be posted, that she still looks cute as ever. So, just to clear up the confusion, Ella is not half-bald. But really...thank you all for your concern for poor Ella! She has recovered well and still continues to help me cook on a daily basis. She's just a little further back, now!

Beware of the KitchenAid!!!

You are never going to believe this! On Sunday morning I was making roll dough in the KitchenAid. I walked across the kitchen to the sink, while the dough hook was kneading the dough, and Ella was looking in the bowl. All of a sudden she starts screaming! The end of a chunk of her hair touched the rotating part of the mixer, and within a half a second it was RIPPED RIGHT OUT OF HER HEAD!! A huge chunk of hair! Gone! (Yes, that is what she is holding in this picture.) Can you imagine what would have happened if it would have been a bigger chunk - too big to rip off? Oh it could have been so bad. As it is, she has a large bald patch just to the left of her part. She was so upset - because I'm sure it hurt like crazy! - but after listening to her I realized that she was more upset about the loss of hair: "I'm OK, it's OK. I just had a nice haircut. I still have lots of hair. It's still beautiful." Ohhhhhh...poor peanut!! So those of you with daughters (or long hair) - BEWARE!

Tackle Football

OK, this picture needs some explaining. What you see here is the boys playing football in the backyard. Spencer (yes, the skinniest kid ever) has been wanting to play tackle football. So despite my warnings, he insists on playing it with a few of the neighbors. Not football, just tackling. So, hard to believe, he got hurt. So I explained (again!) about the protective gear that football players wear to keep them from getting hurt. Next thing I know, Spencer and Tyler are out in the backyard wearing their bike helmets and their shirts stuffed with blankets! So here they are...playing tackle football!

Tribute to Brothers

Well, here it is. The promised tribute to brothers! I'll tell it you it was near impossible to find pictures of the boys where they're both looking remotely near the camera, or that there wasn't a little three year old girl (aka Ella) in the middle of them! So yes, Spencer and Tyler are still inseparable buddies, but unlike in their younger years they're quite often just annoying each other (or me!) or forcing me to separate them due to violence. Nothing to be alarmed about...just the usual "He did it first!," "I was only joking!," or the infamous "We were just playing!!"